June 24
1800s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s *1947 - The Brooklyn Dodgers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4–2, as Jackie Robinson stole home for the first of 19 times in his career. *1949 - Rookie Mickey Mantle signed his first contract –a $1,000 deal with the New York Yankees. Yankee scout Tom Greenwade reeled in the 17-year-old high school star, who will make his major league debut two years later. 1950s *1950 - Hank Sauer hit two home runs and two doubles to pace the Chicago Cubs to an 11–8 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. *1955 - Washington Senators rookie Harmon Killebrew hit his first major league home run in an 18–7 loss to the Detroit Tigers. 1960s *1964 - Collegiate star Rick Reichardt became the biggest bonus baby in major league history when he signed a contract with the Los Angeles Angels. Reichardt, whose bonus totaled $200,000, will make his major league debut later in the season, batting .162 in 37 at-bats. 1970s *1970: **New York Yankees outfielder Bobby Murcer tied a major league record by hitting home runs in four straight at-bats of a doubleheader against the Cleveland Indians. **The Cincinnati Reds played their final game at Crosley Field, beating the San Francisco Giants 5–4. *1972 - Culminating a long battle to reach baseball, Bernice Gera became the first woman to umpire in a professional game. Gera worked the first game of a New York-Pennsylvania League doubleheader between the Auburn Phillies and Geneva Rangers. Gera encountered a series of disputes in the game as she ejected the Auburn manager. She resigned before the second game, leaving in tears, and will never umpire again. *1974 - Kansas City Royals pitcher Steve Busby retired the first nine batters he faced to set an American League record with 33 consecutive batsmen retired. The Royals lose, however, 3-1 to the Chicago White Sox. *1979 - Rickey Henderson made his major league debut with the Oakland Athletics. Henderson, who will become the all-time leader in stolen bases and base on balls, collected a single, a double, and his first stolen base in four at-bats against the Texas Rangers. 1980s *1983 - Don Sutton of the Milwaukee Brewers became the eighth pitcher to record his 3,000th strikeout when he fanned Alan Bannister in the eighth inning of a 6–2 victory over the Cleveland Indians at County Stadium. 46,037 Brewers fans were present, mostly to welcome back popular outfielder Gorman Thomas, who was traded to Cleveland earlier in the month. *1984 - Joe Morgan of the Oakland Athletics his 265th home run as a second baseman surpassing a record set by Rogers Hornsby. Morgan, playing his final major league season, will finish his career with 268 home runs. *1989 - Vince Coleman of the St. Louis Cardinals set a major league record by stealing his 39th and 40th consecutive bases without being caught. Coleman, who has not been caught since September 15 of 1988, broke the record set by Davey Lopes in 1975. 1990s *1991 - Dave Winfield of the California Angels became the oldest major leaguer to collect five hits in a single game. The 39-year-old Winfield also hit for the cycle in a 9–4 win over the Kansas City Royals. *1992 - Commissioner Fay Vincent permanently banned Steve Howe from baseball after he pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charge of attempting to buy cocaine. The ban was subsequently overturned and Vincent resigned on September 7 after a vote of no confidence from owners. Howe will pitch for four more years. *1994 - Jeff Bagwell of the Houston Astros became the 28th player in major league history to hit two home runs in one inning when he connected twice in the sixth against the Dodgers. Bagwell added a third homer in the eighth. *1997 - Randy Johnson of the Seattle Mariners stroke out 19 batters to tie a major league record for left handed pitchers set by Steve Carlton. Johnson broke the American League mark for left handers set by Ron Guidry, but like Carlton, took the loss in his 19-K game. Mark McGwire hit a 538-foot home run to pace the Oakland Athletics to a 4–1 victory. 2000s *2004 - Larry Walker hit three home runs, the third in the 10th inning, to lead Colorado to an 10–8 victory over Cleveland. *2005: **At Yankee Stadium, the Mets set a National League record by hitting three sacrifice flies in one inning, an oddity accomplished three times by American League teams. Ramón Castro, José Reyes and Mike Cameron each hit one SF in the second inning, and Reyes added his second of the game in the ninth, as the Mets beat the Yankees 6–4. **Los Angeles Dodgers closer Eric Gagné had a successfully season-ending elbow surgery. Gagné did not need a ligament replaced and could return by spring training. Originally expected to be out 12-to-14 months, Gagné now faces about six months recovery time, and may start throwing a baseball even earlier. *2006 - David Ortiz hit the ninth walk-off home run of his career, a two-run blast off Tom Gordon, that gave the Boston Red Sox a 5–3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies in 10 innings at Fenway Park. Jonathan Papelbon was the winner with 2 1-3 scoreless relief innings. Births *1929 - Wally Yonamine, outfielder, first American to ever play professional ball in Japan. *1867 - Jake Stenzel, outfielder (d. 1919) *1892 - George Harper, outfielder (d. 1978) *1907 - Rollie Hemsley, All-Star catcher (d. 1972) *1915 - Buster Adams, outfielder (d. 1990) *1929 - Wally Yonamine, outfielder, first American to ever play professional ball in Japan. *1938 - Don Mincher, All-Star outfielder *1951 - Ken Reitz, All-Star outfielder *1956 - George Vukovich, outfielder *1957 - Doug Jones, All-Star pitcher Deaths *1940 - Bert Adams, catcher (b. 1891) *1963 - Jud Wilson, Hall of Fame Negro League player and manager (b. 1894) *1965 - Johnny Humphries, pitcher (b. 1915) *1967 - Roy Castleton, pitcher (b. 1885) *2003 - Jack Bruner, pitcher (b. 1924)